Qatar

Trade

The main export and source of revenue is oil, although
the
government's efforts to diversify Qatar's industrial base
have
resulted in the growth of other exports. Crude oil,
petroleum
products, and LNG accounted for 82 percent of exports in
1989,
chemicals (ammonia and urea) accounted for 12.4 percent,
and
manufactures (mainly steel) accounted for 5.1 percent.
Total
earnings for the year were QR9.7 billion (see
table 23,
Appendix). Japan was the largest customer at 54.4 percent
of
purchases, followed by Thailand (5.0 percent) and
Singapore (4.0
percent) (see
table 24, Appendix).

Because imports are financed by oil revenues, the level
of
goods coming into the country rises and falls with the oil
economy. Between 1969 and 1979, for example, the value of
imports
grew an average of 40 percent annually. Imports declined
in the
early to mid-1980s, sinking to a low of QR4.0 billion in
1986,
then rising gradually until they reached QR4.8 billion in
1989.

Machinery and transportation equipment accounted for
37.0
percent of imports in 1989, manufactured goods for 23.9
percent,
food and live animals for 15.1 percent, and chemicals and
chemical products for 6.0 percent. The main import sources
were
Japan (18.8 percent), Britain (11.6 percent), the United
States
(8.8 percent), Italy (7.8 percent), and the Federal
Republic of
Germany (West Germany) (7.3 percent).

In keeping with a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
agreement,
Qatar raised tariffs from 2.5 to 4.0 percent in 1984. In
addition, there is a 20 percent duty on steel products
similar to
those produced by Qasco. Qatar plays a small role in the
regional
entrepôt trade. Most imports arrive by sea and are for
local use,
with only a small percentage reexported to Saudi Arabia
and the
UAE.